1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a store cash depositing and dispensing apparatus, a store cash depositing and dispensing system, and a store cash depositing and dispensing management method installed in a store to enable sales in the store to be deposited and reserve funds, etc., for the store to be taken out.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. HEI 9-16691 is an example of a conventionally-known store cash depositing and dispensing apparatus. The store cash depositing and dispensing apparatus disclosed in this patent laid-open is provided with: a deposit apparatus installed in a store; a cash processing apparatus for identifying and counting cash when cash from a sale at the store is inserted (deposited) into a deposit machine, a center for performing a depositing process being connected to the cash processing apparatus by means of a communication line; a data processing apparatus for storing the counted amount and controlling transmission of deposit data to the center by means of the communication line, the deposit data including the amount deposited and an identifier for the store; and a cash box for housing the inserted cash. The construction is such that when deposit data is received at the center, a process is performed for depositing money into a bank account corresponding to the identifier for the store and enabling the cash from the deposit machine to be collected. According to this kind of apparatus, the deposit data can be obtained by the center performing the cash collection and delivery services as soon as the cash from the sale in the store is inserted into the deposit apparatus disposed in the store, and the cash from the deposit machine can be reliably transferred to the store's bank without being handled at the store.
However, in a conventional technique of this kind, whereas the collection service for the cash deposited in the cash box is the responsibility of the contracted center (a security company, etc.), cash that has been deposited cannot be taken back out at the store, making it necessary to prepare separately cash functioning as reserve funds for the store. Hence, it is inconvenient that cash of this kind cannot be managed freely at the store once deposited. An additional problem has been that since all of the deposited cash is housed in the cash box, the cash box is soon filled when cash in small denominations is deposited frequently, making the handling of deposited cash inconvenient for the center.
Moreover, concerning the former problem that cash that has been deposited cannot be withdrawn at the store, the present applicants have previously proposed (in Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-113248) a store cash depositing and dispensing apparatus provided with two kinds of cash housing location, namely: a withdrawable cash housing location enabling cash which is withdrawable after being deposited to be housed as reserve funds for the store; and a non-withdrawable cash housing location enabling cash which is non-withdrawable after being deposited to be housed for collection by the security company, in order to enable management by a single apparatus of cash for reserve funds, etc., which is withdrawable after being deposited. However, when depositing cash in this apparatus, advance designation must be made when the cash is deposited as to which of either the withdrawable cash housing location or the non-withdrawable cash housing location the cash is to be later housed in, and in that case, if the non-withdrawable cash housing location is designated and the money deposited therein, the cash therein still cannot be withdrawn, and thus inconvenience remains in that the cash therein can no longer be withdrawn even if a case arises in which it is desirable to withdraw such cash after the money has been deposited. Furthermore, even in this kind of apparatus, the cash box soon becomes full, and thus the latter problem described above, in which handling at the center is made inconvenient, is not still solved.